If You're Leaving
by Violintide
Summary: Fuji Yuuta decides to make his own path, and it doesn't include his brother. Set before the series begins, when Yuuta is a first year at Seigaku and Shuusuke is a second year. Written 1/9/2004, edited and updated 1/19/2009.


**If You're Leaving**

Series: Prince of Tennis / Tennis no Oujisama

Story by Violintide (muscatlove at LJ)

Written 1/9/2004, edited and updated 1/19/2009

---

_It's now or never._

He stood outside the laundry room for several minutes, clutching the pamphlet and stack of printouts that Mizuki had given him the day before at the tennis courts. The exhilaration that he had felt after the other boy's invitation had been replaced by nervous energy, even though he had rehearsed what he wanted to say several times.

Yuuta took a deep breath and pushed open the door, distractedly shoving aside the basket of clothes that blocked his path. His mother was standing at the ironing board, humming as she sorted through a stack of Seigaku button-down shirts waiting to be pressed.

"Mom?" The loud tumbling of the dryer drowned out his words, giving him one last chance to change his mind and forget the whole idea.

_  
You're Fuji-senpai's brother, right?_

_Did you see your brother's last match? How cool was that move he used?_

_Did your brother teach you to play tennis?_

_Your brother was one of my best students last year, you know._

_Yo, Fuji-senpai's brother!_

_How come you're not in the tennis club? I figured with your brother and all, you'd definitely join.  
_

He swallowed, strengthening his resolve. If he didn't take action soon, he'd waste away at Seigaku, just like Mizuki had said.

_You're quite impressive. I watched your last match, you know. I think you have a lot of potential as a player. Are you a member of your school's tennis club?_

_How come someone as good as you doesn't want to join your school's tennis club?_

_The three of us transferred here last year to join the tennis team. Hardly any of us were at St. Rudolph's before we met Mizuki-senpai. When he finds a player with skills he can use and improve on, he won't stop until they listen to him.  
_

It felt surprisingly good to be needed. It didn't hurt that everybody was so nice, either. Sure, Mizuki was a little weird, but he wasn't a bad guy. And Kaneda had let him use his GBA to play the new fighting game that his mother told him to wait until he saved up enough money to buy, and Yanagisawa asked him if he wanted to meet again this weekend to practice and hang out.

He had had more fun in three hours with a bunch of guys he had never met before than he had in his last three months at Seigaku.

Yuuta tapped his mother on the shoulder, then leaned against the washer and tried to look relaxed. "Mom? Do you have a few minutes?"

"Oh, Yuuta! You startled me, goodness." Fuji Yoshiko paused as she looked more closely at her youngest child. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Um, kinda." Yuuta glanced around the room. "Can we go sit down in the kitchen for a couple minutes? There's something I want to ask you about.."

A dual look of confusion and concern passed over her face, but his mother nodded, setting the iron back down and unplugging it. "Of course, dear. ..is this about school?"

The sudden tension in Yuuta's shoulders made him wince. "Sorta.. I need to show you something." He turned around and walked down the hallway, not looking back to see if his mother was following. When he reached the kitchen, he pulled out a chair and slumped into it, keeping the brochures on his lap for the moment.

In the background, he heard the soft clink of dishes being shifted in the cabinets as his mother took down two mugs, then the hiss of a kettle being placed on the hot stove.

"Would you like some tea, Yuuta? Oh, wait, I got you some hot chocolate at the store today.."

Yoshiko deliberately kept her voice pleasant, not wanting to scare her son out of discussing whatever was bothering him. He had been worrying her lately. Since classes had started, her normally cheerful and energetic son had been coming home right after school and shutting himself in his room, with only the beeps and tinned music of his game console even signaling his presence in the house. She had also noticed the relationship, or rather lack thereof, between her two boys. Even Yumiko, her eldest daughter, had commented that it was like pulling teeth to get Yuuta to say more than two words to Shuusuke lately. Considering that not so many months ago, Yuuta followed his brother everywhere, there was definitely something going on.

Pouring the hot water into the mug filled with powder, she handed her son a spoon, and then the sugar jar without thinking. She had learned to take Yuuta's sweet tooth into consideration long ago.

"What did you want to talk about?"

Yuuta fiddled with the spoon, half-heartedly stirring the mix as he stared into the cup. "You remember two weeks ago, when I went to the tennis club to practice?" His mother nodded, although he still wasn't looking at her. "I met some guys there from another school.. have you ever heard of St. Rudolph Academy?"

Yoshiko's brows furrowed as she tried to recall the name. "A.. Catholic school? Where is it located?"

"Near Takasaki, on the Utsunomiya line."

"Hm, I don't think I know of it." She sipped her tea. "Did you play tennis with them?" She let him keep control of the conversation, waiting to hear what he wanted to say that was making him so tense.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it was lots of fun. That's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about.." Yuuta finally looked up at her, taking a short breath before rushing through his explanation. "They were telling me about their tennis team.. They're looking for more members, and they're all really nice, and Mizuki-san, oh, he's the manager, Mizuki-san said that maybe I would like it there, it sounds really nice, he gave me these." He plunked the pamphlets and information printouts in front of her, knuckles white as he clutched his mug and noisily slurped the cocoa, waiting for her reaction.

His mother blinked at the sudden change in her son's demeanor. Flipping through the glossy brochure, she noted the pictures of a fairly spacious campus with a chapel at its center, smiling boys sitting in class, sports teams in the midst of practice. One photograph in particular caught her eye.

"Dorms? Is this a boarding school, Yuuta?" She tried to keep her voice neutral, all the while thinking: _my baby wants to leave us?_

He smiled nervously. "Yeah, sorta. But it's still in Tokyo so I'd be close to home and I could come back on weekends.. I was thinking of maybe taking a tour of the campus next weekend, I mean, if you don't mind, I just want to see what it's like.." He sensed that he was losing her somewhat, so he redoubled his enthusiasm. "Lots of the guys on the team just transferred there over the past year from other schools, and they all really like it! Yanagisawa-san, he's from Chiba, and he just started there this year and he loves it, and the tennis team is really good and if I go there I can join the team this year and they have a really good curriculum and everybody told me the teachers are all really nice and it doesn't matter if I'm not Catholic because you just have to go to mass once a week and nobody really minds, a lot of the guys aren't really religious."

Yoshiko stood up, taking her empty teacup over to the sink where she rinsed it out. She knew he was waiting for an answer of some kind.. but this was not what she'd been expecting when Yuuta said he wanted to talk. She set the cup down and turned to look at him.

"Yuuta.. are you sure you want to make a decision like this? You're twelve, and you've only been at Seigaku for three months so far.."

He could hear the unspoken _only_ in front of "twelve", and it made him angry. He tried hard to stay calm, not wanting to seem like a little boy who didn't know what he was talking about.

"I know.. I know it seems like a sudden decision, Mom, but I've been thinking about it for almost two weeks. I've read all the information about it, and it costs almost the same as Seigaku, so money isn't a problem, and it's still in Tokyo, so it's not like I want to pack up and move to Hokkaido or something.. Mizuki-san said you might be concerned about it, and he said that if we want, we can meet with one of the school administrators and you can see the school and the campus and you don't have to make a decision right away.." He struggled to keep the hot pressure of frustrated tears from bursting out, even though his voice was shaking a little. "Mom, even if you're not sure about it.. will you at least come see the school with me?"

Yoshiko closed her eyes for a few moments, considering her words. "I suppose.. it couldn't hurt to look at the school. Did this boy give you information on that as well?"

Yuuta's expression transformed from desperate pleading into gratified hope. "Uh.. really? You will?" Without thinking, he jumped out of his seat and gave his mother a brief hug. "Thank you, Mom!" He started shuffling through the papers excitedly. "Um, I think you just have to call this number and make an appointment. Mizuki-san promised he would show me the tennis facilities, and introduce me to everybody! I don't think it's a problem to transfer there in the middle of the year, Kisarazu-san san did and he said it's really easy!" The boy was fairly glowing now. "I have to go call Yanagisawa-san and tell him!" He ran out of the kitchen, pounding up the stairs to his room.

His mother watched him leave with a faint smile on her face, though her mind was whirling, already planning what to say to her husband about all this. "I suppose I should call Shuuichirou about this.." She glanced through the stack of papers once again, noting for the first time the careful handwriting scattered throughout, advising Yuuta about various aspects of the school. "I hope this Mizuki isn't getting Yuuta in over his head.."

"Mizuki?"

Preoccupied, she was startled by the sound of the faint scraping of chair against wooden floor as Shuusuke entered the kitchen and dropped into the seat that Yuuta had just vacated, his tennis bag abandoned to the floor beside him. He set down the bottle of yogurt drink that he had been carrying, beads of condensation dripping down onto one of the pamphlets. Brushing off the small drops, Shuusuke picked it up and examined it curiously.

"What's this?"

Yoshiko walked over to the refrigerator, taking out ingredients for dinner. Perhaps yakisoba would be good for tonight, the cabbage needs to be used.. "Just some papers your brother wanted me to look at." Kneeling down to reach the package of chicken breasts, she added "He wants to take a tour of the campus and see about transferring."

There was a sudden thud, followed by the dripping of liquid onto the floor and the rolling of the bottle of Calpis as it spun across the kitchen floor. "Oh, Shuusuke, go get the dishtowel before it spreads," she chided. Not hearing any sound, his mother stood up, grabbing the plastic bottle as it stopped near her feet. "Shuusuke? Did you hear me?"

Shuusuke was frozen, staring at the papers with a blank expression save for a slight frown. He didn't appear to notice the sticky film of juice that was starting to soak into the sleeve of his uniform jacket.

"Shuusuke?" She tilted her head, slightly nervous as she watched him.

"Transferring?" He said the word softly, his eyes focused on the same photograph of a dorm room that had caught her own attention earlier. "Yuuta is leaving Seigaku?"

Yoshiko took a towel off of the oven door's handle, not seeing her older son's questing look as she started sopping up the milky puddles on the floor. She took refuge in chatter. "Well, of course I'll have to call your father and discuss the matter with him, and see the school for myself and talk to the teachers. Naturally.. it's a big decision, no one wants to be hasty about things. Your brother is just excited about what those tennis boys told him-"

"Tennis?" Shuusuke's eyes, normally near-closed, were now wide open but devoid of feeling. "Is that why he wants to go there?"

Oh dear. This was an awkward conversation at best, but it honestly hadn't occurred to the woman that the motivations behind such a transfer might have something to do with the growing rift between her sons. "Yuuta did mention something about joining the tennis team, yes, but it sounds like he's already made a few friends. I don't think.. Your brother hasn't been his usual self these last few months, and he's so excited.."

A bad choice of words, perhaps. Shuusuke struggled to return to his usual cheerful countenance, but he couldn't quite keep his lips from forming a thin white line. Yoshiko's hands twisted around the wet towel helplessly as she tried to find something to say to lessen the unhappy mood.

"Mom! Yanagisawa-senpai says that if we go this Saturday afternoon, we can see the dorms and talk to the freshman advisor! Do you think you can pick me up from sch-" Yuuta, his breathing shallow from having raced down the stairs, burst into the kitchen, narrowly avoiding stepping in the remaining Calpis. "Whoops, did somebody spill something?" He looked around and noticed his brother, who had gotten out of his chair and made as if to leave the room. "Oh. You're home." Yuuta's voice was curiously flat as he made the observation.

Shuusuke attempted to smile. "I was just looking at your.." He scanned the brochure title quickly. "St. Rudolph papers. I didn't know you wanted to leave Seigaku."

Yuuta's cheeks turned slightly red as he darted his eyes to their mother, then back to Shuusuke. "Well, it's not official or anything.. I met some guys and I might go there to-" here, his voice became rougher and he mumbled, "play tennis."

"Ah." Shuusuke's voice was carefully neutral. "Of course. It sounds like.. a good opportunity for you." There was no sign that he was anything but happy for his brother.

"Yeah, well.. Uh, is Saturday okay, Mom?" Yuuta fixed his gaze on his mother; his excitement diminished somewhat in his brother's presence.

"I suppose I can ask Yumiko to take your grandmother to the store.. You have practice on Saturday afternoon, right, Shuusuke?"

"As usual. I hope the two of you have fun on your tour." He lifted his tennis bag from against the wall and starting walking away. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."

Both Yuuta and Yoshiko watched him walk up the steps for a moment, and then Yuuta seemed to snap out of the temporary spell. He didn't seem angry, his mother noted, but he certainly wasn't as joyful as he had been earlier.

_Maybe some time apart will be good for the two of them._

Yoshiko gathered her thoughts. "So, Yuuta.. do you have any requests for dinner besides yakisoba?"

"Well, I'm not all that hungry right now because I stopped at the store on the way home and had some onigiri.." The boy had the grace to look sheepish, at least.

Yoshiko tutted and waved the wooden spatula she was holding in his direction. "You had better have room for dinner, young man. Why you boys always have to stop for snacks I'll never know, you'd think I wasn't feeding you enough at home." The pretend-lecture was strained at best, but it helped bring the illusion of normality back into the room.

"Hey, it's a long time between lunch and dinner, you know. Besides, I have to keep up my strength if I want to be taller than aniki!" He paused. "Not that that's gonna be hard, unless he has a growth spurt."

"Since you had your snack already then, you have some free time. Why don't you go finish folding the clothes that are in the dryer? And bring down any school shirts you have in your room, I want to finish the ironing tonight." She pulled out the cutting board to chop up the cabbage. "Make sure you don't start slacking in your work at Seigaku. Just because you're transferring, although I still have to talk to your father about it, it doesn't mean you can take a vacation."

She was already talking about it as if it was inevitable, and it probably was at that. Fuji Shuuichirou was hardly going to put up a fuss over it, considering that he was currently in New York for three weeks as part of the negotiating team to settle a deal that had made headlines several weeks ago. Yoshiko dealt with the finances and household matters, so any work that the transfer might create would fall to her regardless.

As Yuuta headed for the laundry room, grumbling but in a good enough mood that he would do as she asked, his mother took out a frying pan and the packet of soba noodles that she had purchased early. Just as she was about to turn on the heat, the phone rang.

"Hello? Ah, Yumiko! ..no, you're not interrupting, I was just about to start dinner.. you're going to be late? ..no, it's no problem.. Well, it looks like you were right about Yuuta's change in mood lately.. He wants to transfer schools.."

----

First: inspiration for this idea comes from Rachel and Ayatsujik, for the lovely stories they've written dealing with the Fuji brothers.

Silly explanations:

1.) Fuji's parents' names. "Yoshiko" is the official name of Fuji's mother (see volume 10.5). I named the father "Shuuichirou" because it's a fairly common custom in Japanese families to take part of the father's name when naming a son; in this case, the kanji "shuu". 10.5 (or is it 20.5..) also reveals that Yuuta has a giant sweet tooth and puts a TON of sugar into everything he drinks.

2.) Location of St. Rudolph: I examined a map of JR East's railways and chose a random town that seemed large enough yet semi-far away from central Tokyo. I know nothing of the actual town/ward of Takasaki, so if I'm totally off- base, forgive me!


End file.
